‘We didn’t allow Poland to play to their strengths, to hurt us on the counterattack. Aside from that chance [for Arkadiusz Milik] soon after half-time, Neuer didn’t have a save to make. Mats [Hummels] was magnificent; both centre-backs, in fact.’

Poland failed to test Manuel Neuer all evening as Germany produced just three shots on target.

‘Our game in the last third wasn’t fast enough.

‘We hesitated and by the time we got there suddenly there were ten men behind the ball. Crosses and balls into the box – that’s what Poland want because that’s where their strength lies. Bringing [Mario] Götze in made sense but we simply couldn’t impose ourselves on the game. We needed to attack better.

‘The group stage is always attritional, as you’ve seen across the tournament. In the knockout rounds it opens up: you have to win then.

‘Results in France have been close, with many goals conceded right at the end. For teams here for the first time, this is the tournament of their lives. They fight to the end, defend with ten men and wait for their chances.’